Odiye was born in Lagos in April 1956 to the family of Jonah and Cecilia Odiye. He attended St Paul's School, Ebute Metta, Eko Boys and then attended St Finbarr's, Akoka. He played football at both his primary and secondary schools. At St Finbarrs, he started out as a left-half back. In 1975, he was called to play for a junior team called the Nigerian Academicals. The team beat Ghana in 1975 giving Odiye attention among scouts.[citation needed]
Odiye began playing club football in Nigeria for third division league side, Nestle and later National Bank of Lagos.[2] While playing for National Bank, Odiye also worked with the bank as a clerk. He worked in the morning and trained in the evening. In 1978, Odiye was recruited by University of San Francisco to play collegiate soccer. Odiye moved to the United States to attend college and after graduating in 1983, he played for a local semi-professional club Greek-American A.C. which he would help win the 1985 and 1994 U.S. Open Cup.[3]
